Nobody seems to want to be breaking out from a crowded list of rankings except for a couple teams. Is someone going to usurp Tampa from the top spot soon? Will Chico State keep dominating the CCAA? Will Florida Southern ever lose again? Does the NSIC have a team that is going to challenge Minnesota State at some point? Can we get more than one or two teams sweeping their opponents in a weekend?
So many questions, so few answers. Let's see how this past weekend shook out.
Our weekly disclaimer: THE RANKINGS BELOW ARE NOT OUR RANKINGS. WE DO NOT DO RANKINGS. THEY ARE THE MOST RECENT PERFECTGAME.ORG DIVISION II TOP 25 RANKINGS, WHICH CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE. THANKS!
First, statistically, we need to talk about Limestone baseball. They may only be 19-17 overall, and 8-10 in the Conference Carolinas, but the team also boasts three of the top five home run hitters in Division II right now. Garrett Lowery (.429 avg., 46 R, 10 2B, 16 HR, 46 RBI, .857 SLG, .503 OBP), Zach Piazza (.328 avg., 44 R, 4 2B, 16 HR, 34 RBI, .740 SLG, .434 OBP) and Chase Allen (.365 avg., 23 R, 10 2B, 14 HR, 38 RBI, .778 SLG, .424 OBP) have gotta be the most terrifying trio of hitters in the country so far this year. Lowery and Piazza are tied with Barton's Andrew Webster for the national lead in home runs, while Allen is tied for fifth behind those three and Georgia College's Brandon Benson (15 HR).
The top player, however, statistically-speaking, has gotta be Tampa's J.D. Osborne so far. He is batting .421 with 14 doubles, 13 HR, and a nation-leading 56 RBI for arguably the top team in the country.
On the mound, the most impressive pitcher, again statistically-speaking, is probably West Texas A&M's Marshall Kasowski. He is 6-2 with a 1.68 ERA, 2 complete games, 1 save, and the wildest parts: 22 hits allowed and 96 strikeouts in 48.1 innings of work. That is a .133 batting average against and 17.88 strikeouts per nine innings.
As I hope I noted enough times, those are based purely on statistics. So please do not tweet at us saying so-and-so is better because he has a 97 mph fastball or once hit a 520-foot bomb. Thanks!
Our weekly no-hitter update includes a whopping five from this past weekend! Congratulations to the following, including one which featured a player involved in his second no-hitter of the year.
March 31st
North Georgia (10) vs Montevallo (0)
Steven Bower - 9 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 10 K, 107 pitches
March 31st
Oklahoma Baptist (8) at NW Oklahoma State (0)
Carson McPherson - 7 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 12 K
(also started and threw 3.0 innings with 2 BB and 6 K against Baker earlier this year in a no-hitter)
April 1st
Malone (5) vs Alderson Broaddus (0)
Joshua Hurford - 7 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 76 pitches
April 1st
Millersville (5) vs Mansfield (1)
Eli Nabholz - 7 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 78 pitches
April 2nd
Mississippi College (10) at Valdosta State (0)
Zack Ingram - 8 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP
The NCAA finally updated the "Toughest Schedule" report, and there are some interesting results. So far, Tarleton State has faced the toughest schedule to date, with its past opponents winning a .685 clip (137-63), followed by St. Mary's at .655 (131-69) and Fresno Pacific at .654 (138-73). When it comes to the rest of the way, West Texas A&M has the toughest schedule remaining, with future opponents winning at a .669 pace (107-53), followed by Tarleton State at .654 (85-45), Rollins at .646 (122-67) and West Florida at .645 (122-67). Taking in to account the cumulative opposition, both past and future opponents, Tarleton is obviously on top at .637, followed by Flagler (.620), Nova Southeastern (.604), Florida Southern (.601) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (.601).
Here is a recap of the past week of action for the teams in the most recent PerfectGame.org Division II Top 25:
1. Tampa (23-8, 10-2 SSC): The Spartans got hit around for a 14-8 loss in the weekend opener at Florida Tech, but rebounded for a series victory, winning 6-2 and 8-2 in the final two contests to remain atop the SSC standings.
2. North Georgia (25-7, 11-4 PBC): UNG had the bats working in its two victories over Montevallo at home, winning 10-0 and 15-4 with a 4-3 loss in-between. The Nighthawks are 18-4 at home this season.
3. Chico State (27-5, 20-1 CCAA): Chico is rolling in to maybe its most important series of the year. The Wildcats have won six straight after sweeping Cal State-San Marcos in three games, 10-3, 18-4 and 9-0. Chico is seven games clear of the next team in the CCAA North, and 4.5 games up on the entire conference.
4. Dixie State (25-9, 14-6 PacWest): The Trailblazers had a bit of a letdown after their huge sweep the weekend before. Dixie State could only grab one victory on the road at Fresno Pacific, picking up a 5-1 win in game two of four. Outside of that, FPU had control of the series, winning 8-4, 4-3 and 9-5.
5. Emporia State (24-7, 13-4 MIAA): Emporia had a tough go of it on the road at Central Oklahoma, dropping the first two games of the weekend, 9-6 and 4-3, before salvaging a 6-1 victory in the series finale.
6. USC Aiken (24-10, 9-6 PBC): USCA picked up a series victory at home against a tough Flagler squad that was ranked 24th entering the weekend. The Pacers won 5-0 and 8-2 before dropping an 11-6 contest to end the weekend.
7. Angelo State (24-6, 6-1 LSC): The Rams split a four-game series with Tarleton State, taking the first two games, 4-2 and 5-2, before falling 8-3 and 9-3.
8. Azusa Pacific (26-4, 13-3 PacWest): APU took three-of-four on the road at Academy of Art, winning 15-2, 8-1 and 12-2, with a 4-3 loss in game three of the series.
9. Nova Southeastern (22-11, 10-5 SSC): The Sharks took the first two games of their series against Barry, 6-5 and 12-8, but fell 12-0 in the weekend finale.
10. Mount Olive (30-7, 16-2 Conf. Carolinas): The Trojans had reeled off their first 15 conference games entering the weekend, but took a series defeat at the hands of Belmont Abbey over the weekend, falling 3-2 and 11-6 with a 2-1 victory in the middle.
11. Point Loma (18-10, 10-6 PacWest): PLNU showed well in its conference series at home against California Baptist, splitting the four games with the Lancers. CBU claimed 6-2 and 4-3 victories, but the Sea Lions rebounded for 11-10 and 3-0 wins in the Saturday (Apr. 1) doubleheader.
12. Mercyhurst (18-2, 7-1 PSAC): The Lakers dropped the first game of their weekend series against Seton Hill, 2-0, but rolled the rest of the weekend in our D2 Diamond Series of the Week, with 4-0, 9-0 and 11-7 victories. 'Hurst then picked up two mid-week victories over PSU Allegheny, 22-3 and 16-3.
13. Colorado Mesa (22-8, 14-2 RMAC): The Mavericks have now won nine straight after sweeping a four-game series at home against New Mexico Highlands, 6-0, 2-0, 11-10 and 8-1.
14. Lubbock Christian (24-9, 7-2 Heartland): LCU took two-of-three on the road at Texas A&M-International, with 14-0 and 6-4 victories in the first two contests before falling 6-3 in the finale. The Chaps rebounded for a big 2-1 victory at home in a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 4) against #15 West Texas A&M.
15. West Texas A&M (25-6, 7-1 LSC): The Buffs rolled to a four-game conference sweep of UT Permian Basin at home, 9-3, 7-1, 5-3 and 2-0, to remain near the top of the LSC standings. They got caught for a 2-1 loss in a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 4) on the road at #14 Lubbock Christian.
16. Florida Southern (25-6, 6-3 SSC): It is now a 17-game winning streak for the Mocs, the longest in the nation, after they swept through a three-game series at Palm Beach Atlantic, 8-5, 7-2 and 6-4.
17. Central Missouri (20-9, 12-6 MIAA): The Mules had the weekend off, but took on Lindenwood in a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 4), where they fell 8-5. UCM has lost three straight at this point.
18. UC San Diego (22-6, 14-4 CCAA): The Tritons took two-of-three from Stanislaus State over the weekend on the road, dropping the opener 6-3 before winning 8-5 and 7-3 to finish the weekend. They will be part of the biggest CCAA series of the year this weekend.
19. Delta State (26-8, 16-5 GSC): Delta rolled through an easy three-game series over the weekend against Christian Brothers, with a 22-8, 15-3, 8-0 series sweep. The statesmen then beat Ouachita Baptist, 10-0, on the road in a single game on Tuesday (Apr. 4).
20. Lynn (22-11, 6-6 SSC): Lynn took two-of-three at home against Rollins, with 11-2 and 11-8 victories wrapped around a 5-4 loss.
21. Minnesota State (19-4, 14-0 NSIC): The Mavericks have now won 15 straight games, 14 in conference play, going on a Mount Olive-type conference streak. MSU swept a four-game series against SW Minnesota State, 2-0, 2-1, 24-3 and 7-1.
22. Southern Arkansas (26-6, 19-2 GAC): The Muleriders, leaders of the GAC by two games, picked up a series victory on the road at Ouachita Baptist, dropping the first game 5-0 before picking up 8-0 and 6-2 victories in the final two contests.
23. Millersville (18-8, 4-4 PSAC): Millersville had a surprisingly tough time with Mansfield, splitting the four-game series with them. The Marauders took game one (5-1) and game three (12-5), but fell in game two (2-1) and game four (13-0).
24. Flagler (22-14, 10-5 PBC): Flagler dropped the first two games of its series against #6 USC Aiken, 5-0 and 8-2, before garnering a victory in the finale, 11-6.
25. Henderson State (19-13, 13-8 GAC): The Reddies are losing their grip on trying to keep pace with Southern Arkansas in the GAC, as HSU dropped two-of-three at home against Arkansas-Monticello. The Reddies won game one, 2-1, but fell 13-3 and 4-2 to finish the weekend. They followed that up with a 10-3 loss at home against Arkansas Tech on Tuesday (Apr. 4).
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